lost in the forest
by lunatic fringe
Summary: This was the first time he would ever really talk to her. — written for a challenge on LJ; Aerith & Vincent.


**Title:** In the Forest (OH I'M SO CREATIVE)  
**Pairing:** Aerith/Vincent  
**Fandom:** Final Fantasy VII  
**Theme/Lyric Code:** T.10 (lost)  
**Genre:** General  
**Rating:** G  
**Warning:** None, really.  
**Summary:** This was the first time he would ever really talk to her.  
**Other:** For the 40-mixed (underscore, not hyphen) challenge on LiveJournal. (premiered 02/16/07 at 607am.)

* * *

Now that it was getting dark, Aerith began to regret wandering off by herself to the forest to find wild strawberries. Tifa had offered to go with her, but Aerith had declined, insisting that she could find them herself, and besides, Cloud needed someone careful and patient to take care of him after he'd gotten that huge cut on his arm. 

Not to mention, she could see how devoted Tifa was to Cloud, and even though she sort of liked him herself, she respected that devotion. She wouldn't feel right if she just swooped in out of nowhere and hogged him all for herself.

(She had felt that way about someone once before.)

The others, meanwhile, sat around the campsite and wondered what was taking her so long.

"Maybe someone should go look for her," Tifa suggested.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. Uhh..." He looked around at the members of his team. He was injured; Tifa was tending to him; Barret had assumed guard duty for the first part of the evening; Cid would take it the second part, so he was sleeping right now; Red XIII was sleeping soundly himself; Cait Sith wouldn't be a good candidate; Yuffie would probably get lost herself. The only one left was Vincent. Cloud glanced at him. For a second, Cloud was reconsidering Yuffie as a possibility. Vincent wasn't so great when it came to social skills and everyone knew that.

"I'll go."

What surprised him — as well as the others — was that it was Vincent who had volunteered. He'd watched as Cloud's eyes darted from him, then to Yuffie, and finally to the ground as he thought about who to send. This annoyed Vincent slightly; even if he _was_ stoic and all, did Cloud really think he was incapable or something?

"You will?" Cloud asked — mostly to verify it, but also somewhat disbelieving.

Vincent didn't bother to answer him. He just walked off in search of Aerith.

"There's no end to that guy's mystery," Tifa remarked.

—

The forest was growing darker and darker with almost every other step Vincent took. Night was coming on faster, so he needed to find her soon. Being attacked by creatures in the brightness of daylight was one thing, especially considering they could be fought against in a team. Being attacked at night by oneself was a whole different, dangerous story.

Only moments later — and as the last traces of light disappeared from the sky — Vincent heard a rustling nearby. He drew his gun from its holster, keeping it lowered against his thigh, but ready to aim and fire if necessary. He continued on, stepping as carefully and quietly as his metallic footwear would allow. This was when he began to hear humming — faint, cheerful, a melody he'd never heard before. There was only one person who could be matched up with that, of course.

"Aerith?" he called out, pausing for a response.

"Who's there?" her voice replied, and Vincent was able to determine she was to his left.

"It's Vincent." He started towards her voice.

"Oh. What are you doing here?" Now her voice came from a different direction.

Vincent sighed. "Aerith ... stay still. I'm trying to find you."

A chuckle sounded from the same spot it previously had. "Okay. I'm sorry. But you didn't answer my question!"

"Right." He followed the direction her voice came from, relying on it like a trail. "I volunteered."

"Really? You volunteered, or Cloud sent you?"

There was a trace of a grin on Vincent's face. "A little of both, really."

"I see. Well, I hope you remember the way back."

At last, Vincent was standing where she was. It was mostly dark in the forest, but there was a tiny bit of moonlight that had made its way through the thick treetops. "I do. Don't worry." He began making his way back to the campsite, silently urging Aerith to follow.

"Oh, I wasn't worried. You were a Turk, right? They teach you how to get through all sorts of predicaments, don't they?"

He nodded. "For the most part." Realizing that wasn't much of a comforting response, he quickly corrected himself. "Yes."

Aerith noticed his quick change for reassurance, but didn't say anything, choosing just to smile instead. She remained close to the taller one, somehow managing to match his much longer strides. They didn't really talk too much all the way back, because they needed to listen for any potential threats.

It was about ten solid minutes before they finally made it back to the others.

"You found her!" Tifa exclaimed, smiling as they both came through the brush.

Vincent nodded. Aerith headed towards the others.

"I don't think I'll be going into the forest alone again," Aerith said with a tired sigh. "I didn't think I could get lost, but there I was, wandering around the forest aimlessly. It's not so easy to navigate your way out when you've lived in the slums your whole life. The trees all pretty much look the same, whereas there are certain buildings you can remember in the slums."

"Well, we're glad you made it back," Cloud said. Glancing up at Vincent, he added, "Thanks to Vincent, of course."

Aerith turned to the ex-Turk and gave him a smile full of genuine gratitude. "Yeah... thank you, Vincent."

It was no big surprise that, instead of saying, "You're welcome," the red-cloaked man simply nodded and reclaimed the tree he'd been sticking around beside since they chose this place as their site.

The young Cetra yawned, stretching her arms in front of her. "I'm beat! I guess I'll be going to bed early tonight." She got up to head to a tent, but then remembered something. "Oh! I did get a whole bunch of berries," she added, tapping the closed basket at her side, "so I suppose we can have them for breakfast in the morning."

"Sounds good!" Cloud agreed.

"It does," said Tifa. "I haven't had fresh berries in _years_."

Aerith laughed. "Me neither. That's why I just _had_ to get some for us! Well, good night, everyone!"

The two younger ones replied to her, while Vincent simply looked at her in silence. And, despite the fact that prior to meeting these people just over a day ago, he'd been locked in the basement of the Shinra mansion and took to sleeping, he decided to rest so he could be alert in case Barret or Cid happened to fall asleep during their guarding shifts.

He looked forward to seeing that girl again in the morning. Finding her in the forest was the first real interaction he'd had with her, and he'd decided he liked her enough. Cloud was a little dim sometimes but laid-back enough, Tifa was likable, Barret was usually a temper flare away from shooting something, Cait Sith was just a toy, Yuffie was annoying as all hell, Red XIII hadn't talked too much with him. The only other person he'd almost instantly liked was Cid, mostly because the pilot reminded him of a comrade from the Turks with whom Vincent had been friends with.

But this Aerith girl ... something about her just drew him in, made him want to learn her better.

Maybe he'd get the chance later on.

* * *

**A/N:** Still moving stuff here from the writing journal. 


End file.
